If anybody had a concern about the car count for the IMCA Frostbusters given that the weather had reduced the schedule from four shows to two, that was blown out of the water when 173 drivers in four divisions made their way to the Marshalltown Speedway Friday night. In fact the rush of entries created a thirty minute delay in the start of racing as officials worked to get everybody entered on the electronic scoring system, but the wait was well worth it with multi-groove racing and sliders, or White Castles as announcer Jerry Van Sickle calls them, all night long around the high banked quarter-mile oval. Marshalltown continues to climb my list of favorite race tracks and it is now firmly in my top five.
With qualifying action for the four divisions in the books, the Hobby Stocks would be first up come feature time with the twenty-four car field lined up for fifteen laps. John Watson drew the outside of row one and he would set a quick pace with Corey Madden applying some pressure. Usually this would be the point of the story where I would tell you how Shannon Anderson quickly moved up from his sixth row start, but surprisingly Shannon wasn't here tonight and with Watson being the class of the field this became a fifteen lap parade around the top side.
Watson was dominant in the victory with Madden chasing him in second. Dylan Nelson started sixth and finished third, Minnesota's Trevor Holm quickly moved from eighth to fourth, but his run would stop there while third starting Adam Ayers would complete the top five.
The action would pick up again in the Sport Mod feature with pole sitter Nate Whitehurst taking the early lead and Brayton Carter working in second. Carter would throw a big slider in turns three and four on lap four, but when he caught a ripple in turn four it caused him to hesitate and allowed Whitehurst to sweep past him once again. The caution would wave on lap seven when Carter VanDenberg spun in turn and on the restart Carter would complete the slide job on Whitehurst in turn two. Whitehurst would fire back down the back straightaway diving deep into turn three. As he slid up the track in four though he caught that same lip and it turned his car hard right where he was able to get it stopped before hitting the wall head on.
With Whitehurst now restarting at the rear, Carter would assume the lead and Doug Smith would now pick up the challenge. The northwest Iowa driver took a look to the inside a couple of times, but could not complete the pass as Brayton Carter would secure the win. Smith was the runner-up with Keokuk's Daniel Fellows running an impressive third after starting from eighth. Former All Iowa Points and IMCA National champion Tony Olson came from the outside of the sixth row to finish fourth and Nebraska's Tyler Nerud filled out the top five.
The Stock Car action will be remembered for two incidents involving the area's most prolific winner over the past twenty seasons. The first try at a start for the twenty lap feature looked like rush hour on the Kennedy with the lead pack going five wide into turn three. Devin Smith would get pinched off exiting turn four and when he slowed for a split second that caused the back of the field to stack up with Buck Schafroth and Jay Schmidt making hard contact. The damage would require a hook for Schafroth while Schmidt would try it again from his twenty-fourth and final starting position as Andrew Borchardt wondered what might have been after he had found his way to the front from fifth only to have the lap not scored due to the incident at the back.
The second start to the race was just as incredible with Dan Mackenthun leading the opening lap while Kyle Brown split the middle to come from seventh to second. Two laps later Brown would put his Camaro bodied "show car" out front as several drivers continued to charge from deep in the pack. Brian Blessington had started twelfth and he was now in contention, Elijah Zevenbergen came from the ninth row to get into the top five, Schmidt proved that the damage from his opening lap contact was just cosmetic and Damon Murty was flat out flying after starting twenty-second.
Using a line where he would enter turn one a bit higher than everybody else and then dive to the bottom to exit turn two, Murty was picking off a car or two a lap and with just six to go he was now up to second and ready to challenge Brown. But first, let's go back to the B-Main where Murty ended up in the third and final transfer position. Using that same line into turn one, when Murty set the car and turned left late in the race Cody Frerichs was there and contact would spin Murty and send Frerichs up and over a couple of times to bring out the red. As Frerichs climbed out of his damaged Stock Car uninjured, Murty was given his position back in the lineup where he completed his third place run to make the main event.
Back to the feature now, it was Brown out front followed closely by Murty and Devin Smith and when the leaders entered turn one after scoring lap sixteen it was like a repeat of the B-Main incident except this time as Murty spun, Smith was able to continue as the caution flag waved. After circling the track a few times under caution I am assuming that both drivers were told to go to the rear or Smith was sent to the pits, I'm not sure, but this time Murty was sent to the back of the pack for his involvement in the incident.
Once back to green Blessington made a run at Brown that he could not complete allowing Schmidt to get to second and on the final lap Schmidt tried to pull off the amazing back to front run but came up just short as Kyle Brown took the win. Schmidt and Blessington were next in line, Donavon Smith came from sixteenth to fourth and defending All Iowa Points champion John Oliver Jr. took fifth after starting from the inside of the tenth row.
The clock struck midnight as the Modifieds came to the track to close out the show and with two-time IMCA National Champion Jordan Grabouski starting from the front row, he was the odds on favorite in this twenty-five lap event.Tim Ward and Jeremy Mills kept the heat on Grabouski in the opening laps until Mills slipped over the top of turn one to bring out the first caution. Three more laps would be scored before Karl Brewer slipped off the top of turn one where he would get upside down to bring out the red.
Grabouski would open up his lead when the green flag returned and the race for second was the one to watch as Arizona natives Ward and Ricky Thornton Jr. were joined by Cayden Carter to make it a three car battle. Thornton would establish himself in second with ten laps to go, but he could not reel in the leader as Grabouski navigated traffic like a pro to take the flag-to-flag victory. Thornton Jr., Ward and Carter were next in line while Joel Rust came from thirteenth to finish fifth.
It was another great way to start the IMCA season here in Iowa and I have to thank my Positively Racing colleagues and friends Dick and Joyce Eisele for saving me a prime seat as the stands were quite full when I arrived just before hot laps. Make sure that you check out their account of the evening in the 4dFan Report. The Frostbusters wrap up tonight at the Boone Speedway and don't be surprised if the car count in these four classes goes even higher, plus the IMCA Racesaver Sprints will join the card which should guarantee that more than 200 cars will fill the pits.
For me it will be the IRA/MOWA Sprint Car opener at 34 Raceway near Burlington tonight with the Stock Cars and Sport Compacts also in action. Perhaps I will see you there!
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